There could be no doubt that the castle gates would be watched at all times. King Talus might have his spies, but others would as well. Everyone agreed that departure would be critical. Alex’s intention was clear. He wanted everybody to be seen leaving on some normal tasks, careful to ensure that nothing looked suspicious.

Word was surely out that he had been employed by the King. There would now be wild speculation in the city and beyond about the purpose of that employment and they had to make sure that whatever they did, it looked innocuous, but genuine enough to stand a casual inspection by a spy.

Speaking with the king, long into the night, Peta and Alex had come up with a reasonable way to get everybody out of the castle with the minimum of suspicion.

“It’s agreed, then?” The King had finally asked. “You leave in two groups, a few hours apart. Join up out on the road and proceed from there?”

“It’s the best I can come up with, Sire,” Alex replied. “I will lead Catheon and all the pack horses, along with Brion. We’ll look like any other travelling party. It will explain my presence nicely and hopefully look like I am guiding Catheon on some personal matter. Make up something about a sick relative, research, business or whatever after we leave.”

“Yes, that works for the first part of the plan. What about my son?”

“Just after lunch, Sire,” Peta added, “I will lead a group out as if going on the hunt. The prince will ride with us and maybe a dozen guards. This shouldn’t look too unusual, although the prince doesn’t often hunt.”

“That’s true,” The king had mused. “But, still, he does accompany others sometimes so it should look normal enough from the outside.”

“That is our hope, Sire. One of the young guards is about the same build as the prince. I’ve already had him get his hair cut short. They will switch clothing out in the forest and then the slightly smaller party will return. It’s not perfect, but it will have to suffice. All we need is a couple of days to get well down the road west.”

“There’s a good inn only about ten miles west,” Alex had told the King. “That will be our meeting place for the first night. We will all spend the night there and proceed as a group.”

“Nothing about this is going to be perfect. You have done the best you can, gentlemen. It’s a good thing that my son isn’t seen outside often. We should not have to explain an absence. Thank you. Now, be off to bed with you both. We have a busy day tomorrow.”

Peta had wished the king a good night and left the study, Alex ready to be close on his heels.

“A moment, Alex,” the king had asked, just at the door to the study.

“Sire?”

“I might have a couple of letters for you to carry in the morning.”

“As you wish, Sire.”

“Alex… Look after my son?”

“Of course, Your Majesty. With my own life.”

“Well, let us all hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“Good night, Sire.”

Now, the plan was in action. Alex, Catheon and Brion have left the city behind and are walking their horses slowly down the West Road. For some considerable distance west of the city, the road follows the south bank of the River Tanis, even though the city is on the northern bank. The north of the river is more broken ground, split by deep valleys between low hills, the river occasionally cutting into steep bluffs and making travel to the west on that bank impractical.

The city is named after the river and is a major crossing point. Here, just west of the city, it is perhaps two hundred feet wide, running deep and smooth, something that is does only infrequently along its length. One or two small fishing boats are out on the water, half-dressed men casting broad weighted nets for trout and perch.

South of the road, the floodplain is well-cultivated farmland, the crops already beginning to fill out as spring draws to a close and summer hints at the dry heat to come. All the farms seem to be weed-free and prosperous. There are occasional groups of workers in the fields, lifting early roots, planting winter cabbages or weeding.

The road itself is broad and well-kept. There’s enough traffic in both directions to make their small party appear inconspicuous. Just three travellers leading their pack horses on a mission of trade. Alex and Cato both walk their mounts side by side, Brion just behind them leading the pack animals. Three pack-horses for three men may be excessive for luggage, but not for their appearance as trading merchants with possibly sample wares.

“It’s been a long time since I travelled,” Cato tells Alex as they move slowly along. “It already feels good to be outside the castle for an extended period.”

“You’ve been with the King for a long time, haven’t you?”

“Yes. I came to see more of the world, really. I had letters of introduction, from the university in Eboria, and was then given work on an engineering project. As it finished, I was asked to remain and tutor the princes. Time has passed quickly.”

“You taught them both?”

“Yes, but Jamie has always been the easier pupil. He likes to study, where Damien only wished to learn the basics. Just enough to rule when his turn comes.”

“I’ve never been one to enjoy lessons myself, but now I find that picking up a book on a subject and reading for my own end is quite enjoyable. Perhaps it’s that I can learn at my own pace and subjects of my own choosing.”

“Well, beyond a certain level, that is true for all scholars. Damien just never gave himself the chance to move past those basics. I fear that it disappoints the King somewhat.”

“Perhaps. I’m sure it puts an additional weight on his own shoulders.”

“Yes. Now he has to teach Damien how to be a king. It’s a difficult job, despite the outward appearances of luxury and wealth.”

“What of Jamie? He is a better student?”

“Oh, yes indeed. He learns quickly and gains a deep interest in anything that catches his imagination. I see much of how I was as a young man in him. We’re friends, as much as master and pupil. Then, of course, he has magic.”

“May we speak of it, before Jamie rejoins us? I would like to know what you know of his abilities.”

“I understand. Our mission depends on his magical abilities and, if we are being honest with the reasons for our quest, is the only reason we are going west.”

“You are confident he has the skills and power that will be needed?”

“I am. When his power manifested for the first time, his mother was ready for the possibility. Her powers are limited, but there is a history on the King’s side of the family that she hoped might shine through as the bloodlines were mixed.”

“I understand. My, admittedly very minor ability manifested at puberty. Just one more strange feeling to add to the whole range of other development-fuelled tumultuous emotions. I had no-one to guide me and assumed that I got my ability from my mother. I never knew her. I don’t exactly have an outward power, just the seeming excess of good luck and my sense of magic.”

“The Queen taught Jamie the control he needed and allowed him to practice his power in safety and away from the outside world. I sought all the works on magic and power that we could source and together we learned much that has been left unknown and mostly unstudied for many centuries.”

“I’m going to assume that this also includes some lost information concerning the Flame of the West? Everyone knows the legends of its magical power, but also of the danger it poses to anyone weak in that power.”

“The king told me you were insightful. There is a text – well actually a pair of texts – written in a long dead language that only a few can read. It describes the flame as a magical concentrator.”

“A concentrator?” Alex asks.

“Yes. Apparently, it doesn’t really have any magic of its own. It feeds off the magic of those who use it. According to this text, it can increase the ability of the wielder by a factor of ten or more. With such an object, Jamie would literally be able to move a mountain or shield an entire city.”

“And you think Jamie has the necessary power to take the jewel?”

“Yes, but not solely because of his magical strength.”

“There is more to it than that, then?”

“Yes, Alex. The second of the two texts makes clear why so many have failed to seize the flame. The person who can do so successfully cannot do so with the use of its power in mind. And, of course, they have to be of royal blood. Never really understood that one particularly. If you go back into the history of most families, they have a little of that royal blood mixed in somewhere. We have to assume it’s a matter of degree.”

Alex nods at this and sits his horse quietly for a few moments, absorbing the long-lost mysteries of the Flame. “All the previous mages went in search of the Flame for power and might.”

“That is what I believe. All my reading tells me that Jamie may be able to take and wield the flame, but it is nuanced. We just need to get him there.”

“And if you are wrong?”

“Then the flame will destroy him on contact, as it has for so many before.”

“I’m not sure that I see the need to take the risk. What need has Jamie, or indeed Taneria, for such a power.”

“The King knew that you would ask this very question. He gave me explicit orders to tell you everything if you did indeed ask.” Cato pauses and looks behind himself, making sure that Brion can hear as well. “There is war coming to Taneria.”

“Nonsense. There has been peace in the middle kingdoms for more than two hundred years. Talus is well liked and there is safety and prosperity.”

“I wish it were true, but it is not. Talus is a good King. Perhaps one of the best there has ever been. He keeps the peace and spends the taxes wisely to maintain his kingdom and build a safe and happy land. It makes others jealous.”

“Well, they should work to copy, not to conquer.”

“Indeed, but that is not the nature of man and you know yourself what we will see when we cross the border into Benteria. Other kingdoms in the middle lands aren’t much better.”

“I agree, but Haran in particular is a waste of a crown.”

“I can only agree. He is a terrible King, but he seems to have a plan. There’s a reason that the roads and land inside his borders fail. Haran taxes heavily and, despite the rumours of his wastefulness being mostly true, that cannot account for the huge sums he is expending.”

“I hate to guess,” Alex mutters. “The army?”

“Indeed. The army of Benteria has doubled in size in the last three years. Some of the other kingdoms bordering Taneria seem to be doing the same – Eloria for example. Talus and his own guard battalions could perhaps fend off an attack from any one of them on their own, but if more than one country attacks, then, without outside assistance, the kingdom will fall.”

Alex glances over his shoulder. Brion has clearly been listening, but has chosen to remain quiet and keep his thoughts to himself. When Alex manages to turn his stare into a question, simply by raising his brows, Brion merely shrugs in silent acceptance of their changing situation.

For the next hour they walk along in silence, the heat of the late spring day slowly fading as the sun falls in the sky. By the time they reach the inn that Alex plans to use for the night, the others have still not caught up with them. Two stable-boys are quick to take the reins of their horses as they arrive and Brion goes off with them to make sure they secure the goods from the pack animals.

Alex and Cato step into the inn, being greeted at the door by a short, rotund, dark-skinned man in a white apron.

“Welcome, gentlemen. Do you seek rooms for the night?”

“Indeed we do, innkeeper,” Alex tells him easily. “There will be six of us in total, just for one night.”

“Six of you? I’m afraid you will have to share three rooms, then. They each have two beds, of course. Is that acceptable?”

“It will be fine. It’s too late to move on further today and we wish to make a long ride tomorrow.”

“Your friends are following?”

“Yes. They will be along shortly. While we wait, perhaps we will sit outside and take an ale?” Alex takes two gold coins out of his purse and places them in the innkeeper’s hesitant hand. Not enough to pay for the night for six of them, but enough to reassure the innkeeper that they have funds.

The innkeeper’s face brightens considerably as he hefts the coins. “Of course, my Lords,” he tells Alex and Cato with a beaming grin. I will send ale out immediately. Please, make yourselves welcome.”